voters losing their rights under the . . . wait for it . . . help america vote act of 2002

I could appreciate the irony more if this weren’t so outrageous and unforgiveable. With help like this, who needs enemies? Please read the entire article here. Continuing today’s depressing news streak,

Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.

The actions do not seem to be coordinated by one party or the other, nor do they appear to be the result of election officials intentionally breaking rules, but are apparently the result of mistakes in the handling of the registrations and voter files as the states tried to comply with a 2002 federal law, intended to overhaul the way elections are run.

. . . The six states seem to be in violation of federal law in two ways. Some are removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election, which is not allowed except when voters die, notify the authorities that they have moved out of state, or have been declared unfit to vote.

Some of the states are improperly using Social Security data to verify registration applications for new voters.

In addition to the six swing states, three more states appear to be violating federal law. Alabama and Georgia seem to be improperly using Social Security information to screen registration applications from new voters. And Louisiana appears to have removed thousands of voters after the federal deadline for taking such action.

So here’s my question: if the law goes back to 2002, why is this happening NOW? Really, within 90 days of the election? We did have a presidential election between 2002 and 2008, after all. And why swing states especially? Something smells mighty fishy about this.

“Just as voting machines were the major issue that came out of the 2000 presidential election and provisional ballots were the big issue from 2004, voter registration and these statewide lists will be the top concern this year,” said Daniel P. Tokaji, a law professor at Ohio State University.

Voting rights groups have urged voters to check their registrations with local officials.

In Michigan, some 33,000 voters were removed from the rolls in August, a figure that is far higher than the number of deaths in the state during the same period — about 7,100 — or the number of people who moved out of the state — about 4,400, according to data from the Postal Service.

In Colorado, some 37,000 people were removed from the rolls in the three weeks after July 21. During that time, about 5,100 people moved out of the state and about 2,400 died, according to postal data and death records.

In Louisiana, at least 18,000 people were dropped from the rolls in the five weeks after July 23. Over the same period, at least 1,600 people moved out of state and at least 3,300 died.

Please, please double-check that you are registered to vote, and encourage everyone you know to do so. You can check here, and this link offers a more complete set of info, including what it looks like more of us may need than we even realize: the Election Protection Hotline, 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). I’ve been wondering what the big deal is about early voting, and here’s one excellent reason to vote early–if you run into any problems, you won’t be caught scrambling to protect your right to vote on election day.